Survive
by Tigerrosewood
Summary: Z had been traveling in this post apocalyptic land for a long time, and when she finally makes it to her destination, she finds that she is sharing her new home with a band of rather intelligent apes. The forest is a big place, but she can't hide form them forever.
1. Chapter 1

When the flue first broke out, Z wasn't really worried. While everyone else was losing their shit and trying to shut themselves off from the world, she was using the panic to her advantage. She knew nobody in her home would really care if she disappeared (selfishness seemed to be a running theme within her clan), so she packed up everything she cared about and left. Z planned on going to her grandmas house and staying there, but she had to make a pit stop first.

The Walmart parking lot was absolute chaos, and she knew it probably wasn't much better on the inside. People where running out the doors with armfuls of stuff, some rolling around or tackling other for what they had. Z slipped into the store through the buggy dock and ran for the craft section.

Z wasn't worried about food. Between her grandma's garden, chickens, and the years worth of pickled and preserved goods, they would be set for a long time.

When she got to the craft isle, just as she had suspected, it had barely been touched. She had the insight to bring an extra bag and quickly stuffed it with as much as she could. When her bags where full she filled her pockets and used her hoodie a makeshift pouch, grabbing as much as she could carry before slipping back out.

It was nearly dark by the time Z made her way up her grandma's long driveway, dropping her bags on the porch and knocking on the door.

Abigail Young had been expecting her youngest grandchild for awhile now, and welcomed her inside with a warm hug and an offering of dinner. Z grabbed her things and gladly followed the older woman to the kitchen, knowing it would be rude to refuse her food.

While her plate was being fixed, Z dumped what she has taken from the store onto the kitchen table and organized it into groups by their craft.

"I think I got everything you asked." She said as she sat down, immediately digging into the delicious meal that was set before her. "There's more in my other backpack too."

"You did good, dear." Abigail praised, looking over the spread on the table. "We should have everything else we need here."

Z continued to eat as her grandma put the supplies away, coming back with a book and setting it before her.

 _Poisonous plants in the wild._

"We're going to start off easy, but just know it's not going to stay that way for long."

Z had expected this, knowing what she was in for when she came to the older women's home. Even she could see that dark times were about to fall on humanity, and if she was to survive she would have to learn.

She finished her plate and washed it in the sink, putting it away and grabbing the book. Making herself comfortable on the couch, the news playing softly on the tv and her grandma knitting in her chair, she started reading the first chapter.

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 **This is supposed to be short, and I promise the rest of the chapters will be longer.**


	2. Chapter 2

I know my writing is all over the place and I'm sorry. Hopefully it'll get better as the story progresses. I really like reviews, just saying.

* * *

Tired.

Z was so, very tired.

Tired of walking. Tired of being hungry. Tired of being alive.

When she was younger, she could honestly say that she prayed for the apocalypse to happen. She hated her life so much that a world in ruins seemed so much better than what she had been settled with.

Well now that it had happened, she wished she could go back in time and tell her younger self how stupid she was. She grew up knowing how to fight(being the youngest of five horrible brothers), but other than that she had no real way of taking care of herself. Lucky for her, her grandmother was completely prepared for the impending apocalypse and ready to spread her wisdom to her favorite grandchild.

Not to say it was easy, she was only a child when the virus broke out and marshal law was declared, but her grandmother assured her she would be fine as long as she agreed to listen and do as she said.

Z always listened to her grandma, and it was what had kept her alive all these years.

Even after she died.

The flue got her six years after everything started, and even when her body started to shut down, she reassured Z that everything would be ok, and that she would survive if she continued to follow her plans.

And so she did.

After her grandma passed , Z packed up everything she needed and began her journey. For the last 6 months she had been making her way on foot to the state of California, hoping to start a new life somewhere in the redwoods. While walking was slow and she had thought so many times about hot-wiring a car, keeping a low profile and staying away from other humans was her top priority.

While the trip had mostly just been her foraging for food and sleeping in abandoned houses at night, Z had been in a few incidents. Most had happened while she was making her way through Texas (anyone who knows Texans could probably tell you why), and after that she did her best to travel close to the roads but out of sight.

When she finally, after months of walking and contemplating her own existence, made it to California she nearly cried. Z still had a ways to go before she made it to the redwoods, but to her it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and soon she would finally be able to settle down.

As she traveled further into the Golden state, every town she went through seemed to be abandoned. Z hadn't seen a single person since she crossed the border, they where either deep in hiding or had all just died off. Not that she really minded, it only made things easier for her.

After a few days of traveling she started collecting things she might need when she stopped for good. Mostly small things, though she did find a few overgrown gardens that offered a wonderful selection of easily grown vegetables that she could bring with her. Her grandmother had taught her everything she about gardening and keeping plants(which had been a lot), and Z was excited to see how well her wisdom had stuck.

Z had seen pictures of the redwoods when she was younger, but nothing could actually prepare her for their massive size when she actually reached them. She stood at the edge of the forest, just basking in the fact the she had _finally_ made it, for a good ten minutes before she ventured inside.

The first thing on the agenda was to find a good place to build a shelter. Most people immediately tried to find food and water, and that was a rookie mistake. The human body could go days without water, and even longer without food, but if you had no shelter when the sun went down, you where pretty much fucked.

Z had a small tent in her bag to use until she could find a good spot, though she usually tried to refrain from using it. She moved quickly through the large trees, taking in all the nature and beauty as she went. Later into her training her grandma would send her out into the woods around her house. Z would spend days out there by herself, working on her hunting skills or build different types of forts out of sticks.

Though the redwoods where much different than the forest in Louisiana, the further she traveled in the more... _at peace_ Z felt.

All of her worries seemed to just melt away as she came up on a cluster of trees. The largest three where set in a sort of triangle formation around a flat high-rise of land, the rest scattered a few feet apart from each other.

It was perfect.

Z pulled off her backpack and slid down to sit on a large root, letting out a long sigh. She reached into the inside of her coat and pulled out a folded up piece of paper, unfolding it carefully.

 _Zander._

 _If your reading this, it means you've finally made it to your destination. Hopefully you didn't get into too much trouble on the way, though knowing how other people are you've probably had at least a little confrontation._

Z chuckled. ' _Good call_ , _grandma.'_ She thought as she continued reading.

 _I have compete faith in you dear and know you'll be able to handle yourself. I know your still young, but you've grown so much since this all started and I'm sad I won't be able to see you become a woman with my own eyes. This is the last time I'll get to speak with you, so I have some advice to give._

 _Keep an open mind. In this new world nothing is impossible for you or anyone else, and if you want something you have to take it. Even if it doesn't seem like the right option. You are strong and you always have been_ , _even if you don't always think so._

 _I'm so proud of you, my love, and I always will be._

 _Love Grandma._

Z sniffed and wiped her eyes, smiling up at the sky.

"Love you to, Grandma."


	3. Chapter 3

**Let me know what you think.**

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The hunting was good that day.

The apes had managed to surround and corner a large herd of deer, taking down more than half. They would eat well for a good while, and this pleased the sapiens as they started to haul off their catch.

Rocket, who had split off from the group to chase a rather large buck, was moving silently through the trees. He watched as the deer stumbled down hill, having already been injured on one of its legs. It finally collapsed at the base of a tree, calling out in pain. Rocket jumped down, readying his spear to go in for the kill. He raised his long arm, aiming for the heart.

The deer, who had been struggling to get away, suddenly froze. Rocket could see the fear in its eyes, but he noticed it was no long derived from him. It was staring at something behind him. His fur bristled as he quickly turned around, spear up and ready for an attack.

There was nothing there.

His eyes narrowed, scanning around.

Before he could move it jumped out at him, a large cougar looking for its next meal. Rocket ducked down, barley missing the cats claws as it soared over his head and hit the the tree. The deer had finally moved, though that just meant the other predator's attention was now focused completely on him.

Rocket hissed and bared his teeth, trying to intimidate the large cat. It didn't seem to work as the cougar swiped at him with a large paw, catching his spear with its claws and tossing it to the side. Now weaponless, the ape was starting to panic. He stood on up strait and called out loudly, hoping the others wear close enough to hear.

The cat was getting ready to pounce again, getting low to the ground and snarling. Rocket growled right back, readying himself for a fight. The cat jumped, its claws extending and ready to rip into him.

Before that could happen the cougar hit the ground in front of him, an arrow sticking out of the side of its head. Rocket was stunned, and turned slowly to see where the arrow had come form.

Standing to the side was a human, looking just as surprised as he felt.

Rocket could hear the other apes moving through the trees in the distance and watched as the human took a few steps back, looking like she was about to run. She didn't though, she just set down her weapon and stepped away from it, watching as the apes surrounded them.

 _'At least this one is smart.'_ Rocket thought as Ceasar jumped down and landed beside him, eyeing the human.

 _"Are you alright, Rocket?"_ The ape king signed to him. He nodded slowly, watching as the other's circled around the girl, keeping their spears at the ready.

 _"She...shaved me."_ He signed to his leader, not really sure how to go about the situation.

Ceasar hummed and moved forward, Rocket close behind. The others parted to make way, some keeping their weapons up. The human was looking around nervously as they approached.

As they got closer Rocket noticed how young the girl looked. She was small, with sunken cheeks and tired looking eyes. The ape guessed she couldn't be much older then his own child.

Ceasar stepped in front of the human, looking down at her before speaking.

"Why...are you...here?"

* * *

As the season started to change, hunting was becoming harder for Z. She normally stayed close to her little camp, hunting for rabbits and squirrels in the surrounding area, or fishing in the river, but as it was becoming colder it was getting harder to find food.

Z decided to travel farther than she normally did in the hopes of finding something. While deer were plentiful in the redwoods, she didn't have the strength to drag one back to her camp, and even if she did, she doubted she could eat the whole thing before the meat started to rot.

Using a compass to keep track of her direction so she didn't get lost, she headed out for the day. Z walked for about thirty minutes before she finally came across a fat squirrel sitting on a fallen tree. She silently loaded an arrow into her crossbow and took aim, shooting the animal right through the head.

Z let a small smile grace her face as she pulled out the arrow and put her dinner into her rucksack. She decided to try her luck and continued on, hoping to get enough meat to maybe make a stew to last for the next few days.

She managed to get another squirrel and a rabbit before she decided she had enough. She was about to head back when she heard something large move close by. She loaded another arrow before moving quietly towards where the sound was coming from, peaking around a large tree to see an ape cornering a deer.

Z had encountered apes in the forest before, though she had always managed to stay hidden. Before the virus struck she had seen something about the incident on the Golden Gate Bridge on tv, and knew they probably wouldn't be happy to find a human creeping around the forest.

She was about to turn around and leave the ape to his business when a cougar suddenly jumped out through the bushes. Z watched as the large cat swiped at the sapient, growling as he readied his spear.

While Z knew she should probably just leave, she was curious to how this would play out. She knew the apes were strong and figured it would be able to take down the cat easy.

She was wrong.

Z had always prided herself on keeping a level head and thinking things through. But sometimes, in certain situations, her body acted on its own accord.

Which was why, when the ape's spear had been thrown to the side and the cougar had pounced, Z quickly moved from behind the tree and took her shot, the arrow going through the cat's head before she could even proses what she had done.

The two of them just stood there, looking surprised and staring at each other before she heard movement in the trees. She guessed the other apes were coming to check out the commotion, and she quickly set her crossbow against the tree and stepped away from it, watching as she was surrounded by apes.

In the few times she had seen them, it was only a few or a small group. Now they were many, and Z would honestly admit that she was both in awe and slightly intimidated. Some of the apes around her now had looks of anger on their faces, others had curiosity. They had spears aimed in her direction, and while she couldn't see behind her she knew they were there to.

A large ape, seemingly bigger than the rest, jumped down beside the one she had saved. Z could tell simply by the way he carried himself and the energy he gave off that he was the leader. She watched as he looked her, then communicated with the other ape through what she guessed was sign language.

The leader looked between the two again before moving in Z's direction. She had the sudden urge to move backwards, but figured the apes behind her wouldn't allow it. She was surprised to see that this ape walked on two legs, and as he came closer Z resized how big they really where.

She had only seen other apes once before and she was much younger then. It had been at the zoo and from what she could remember of that awful experience, the sapiens had not been this large.

He stood in front of her, and they stared at each other for a moment (though she had to look up slightly). He seemed to be looking for something, fear, or whether or not she was a threat.

Z couldn't say that what she felt in this situation was fear. Caution maybe, but she didn't think anyone would harm her here unless it was warranted.

She cocked her head to the side and the leader huffed, taking a breath.

"Why...are you...here?"

Z's eyes widened in shock. While she could tell these apes were smarter than normal, she didn't know they could speak. Or that it was possible for them to even do so. But they did, or _he_ did, and it seemed that they were all expecting and answer.

"I uh...I live here..." She trailed off, not really sure what else to say.

Some of the apes started hooting loudly, but the leader lifted his hand and everything fell silent.

"How...long?"

"Uh..." Z racked her brain, trying to calculate how long she had been in the forest.

"A few months...I think?" She answered, scratching at her neck.

The leader made a grumbling sound, then looked back to the ape she had saved. While he looked away she looked around her. Some seemed to have calmed down, while others still held their up their defense. Z wondered how this was going to end. Would they let her go in her way, or would they make her leave the redwoods.

She was rooting for the first option.

"How...many...are here?"

Z blinked and turned back to look at the leader, hoping she didn't seem rude.

"It's just me." She told him, looking at his strange eyes. A deep green and gold combination that Z had never seen within anther human, holding an intelligence far greater than she would ever understand.

She watched as the apes signed back and forth, what was being said completely long on her. While her grandmother had taught her a lot of things, sign language had not been one of them and now she wished it had been.

The conversation had continued on for a little while before they turned back to her. Z had begun rocking back and forth on her feet at that point, waiting to be addressed again. The leader's eyes narrowed at her before he spoke.

"You...may go..."

Z nodded, taking a step back and turning around. She cautiously grabbed her crossbow and hooked it onto her bag, not wanting to seem threatening in any way. The apes who had been behind her parted to let her through, giving her curious or questioning looks. Z just walked in the direction she came from.

She didn't dare look back.


End file.
